One of the 18 Tamil Nadu MLAs who were disqualified last year for siding with rebel All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dhinakaran has now left his party. V Senthil Balaji joined the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on Friday, PTI reported. The DMK is in the Opposition in the state.

In September 2017, Speaker P Dhanapal had disqualified the ruling party’s MLAs after they supported Dhinakaran – a decision that was upheld by the Madras High Court a year later. Dhinakaran had formed his own political party, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, in March 2018.

Some of the 18 disqualified MLAs are reportedly unhappy with Dhinakaran’s decision to not appeal against the court order. One of the rebel MLAs had said they planned to move the Supreme Court against the verdict, but Dhinakaran said they would instead contest bye-elections.

Dhinakaran said he had known Balaji since 2006, but he could not “hold anybody’s hand and compel them to do anything”, ANI reported. “It is his decision and I wish him good luck wherever he goes,” Dhinakaran said. “I don’t have any problem with this.”

On Thursday, Dhinakaran had compared dedicated party workers to “true gold”, and said no one will repent if someone with selfish interests or “gold-plated fake” were to quit his party. He had said it would be better if those who held views contradictory to the goals of the party left it.

Balaji was a minister in the AIADMK government headed by then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa between 2011 and 2016. He was the organising secretary of Dhinakaran’s party and was considered close to him.